 The
Academic Advisor needs many personal skills as tools, such as good listening
skills, empathy, and a willingness to be flexible. While these personal
qualities the advisor brings to the job of advising are very important,
there are also some specific other resources that the advisor uses as tools
to assist the student. In addition to this handbook, the major tools
you’ll use are:
Student
records
SIS
PLUS Computer program
Directions
for Freshmen and Transfer Students
  The
SIS (Student Information System) provides information
that is essential for good advising. You
can get personal and academic data about students
as well as information about courses available
each term.
You will receive SIS training from experts, but the training may be more helpful if you have some basic understanding of the system first. The first screen to appear after you have logged onto the system is the SIS menu. The three basic areas on all screens include:
SCREEN: Input the number of the screen you wish to use CRS: Input the course number. For screens providing information about specific sections of a course, you must also input the section number (do not put a space between the course number and the section number). TERM: The number code for the term from which you need information. The term number is a three-digit number. The first two digits are for the year and the last is for the term. The numbers for the terms are as follows:
There are some special keys to use to move around easily in SIS. TAB--to move the cursor one data section forward CTRL+H--to move the cursor one data section backward CTRL+L--to move the cursor back to the first data section
CTRL+W--to
clear any messages that show up in the middle of your screen
a screen or an item on the screen. To get help, put the cursor on the screen field and press F2 (or PF2). To get help for particular data on a screen, put thecursor at the beginning of the data and press F2 (or PF2). F4 (or PF4)--this key gets you out of the help mode.
001 - SIS MENU The main SIS Plus menu
that will lead you to all other screens
002 – NAME SEARCH Use this screen if you do not know a student’s social security number. Input as much of the student’s last name as is possible into the SID field. If space allows, skip a space and also input as much of the first name as possible. When you press ENTER, SIS will pull up all students with that name and their social security numbers. At that point, you can further narrow the list by again putting the student’s last name and first name in the SID field. This time there will be more room for the first name. Each student listed
will have a line number next to his/her name. When the desired student
is found, simply enter the line number associated with that student on
the bottom of the Name Search Screen. This will cause the system to present
the previous screen using the SID for the line number entered.
003 – ALL ADDRESSES Local and permanent addresses and phone numbers as well as ASU box number.
Information such as birthday, sex, marital status, ethnic background and citizenship
Next of kin and veteran information
Information relevant to foreign and handicapped students
Extracurricular activities
Term student entered ASU and ASU box number
SIS Plus screens that you can access. The letter before the screen numbers mean either inquiry only (I), full access (A), or access denied (D).
Lists holds placed on the student with comments about the hold
Same as screen 002
Permanent and local addresses and phone numbers, birthday, sex, ethnic group, marital status, religious affiliation, citizenship, state of origin, county code, veteran status, term degree expected
Student’s schedule with permits submitted
Course sections offered
with information on class meeting times, instructor, and number of seats
available
107 – CLASS LIST All students registered for a class – course number and section number must be entered in COURSE field with no space between the numbers
Student’s schedule with class times and locations
Matriculation history – shows data on each time a student has been admitted, admission status (new registrant, returning transfer, etc., expected graduation date, etc.)
Degree and major, classification, earned hours, time-status (full-time, part-time, etc.), dorm assignment and room number, and academic action as follows:
Quality hours, quality points, earned hours, transfer hours, GPA, number of passes used, number of semesters earned
Flags on student’s record such as math and English proficiency - N for Math or English means either that the student is not proficient or that the student has not taken the test. Flag 8 – required advising (Y=not required, N=required)
Student’s schedule
as it looks during the week (the times are not completely accurate for
classes that meet for longer that one hour)
121 – ACADEMIC PROGRM SUMMARY student’s major, type
of applicant, and academic advisor
122 – INITIAL STATISTICS Student’s academic activity that occurred before SIS was implemented
Degrees awarded at ASU or other institutions and GPA
Information on a section of a course such as title, instructor, call number, and number enrolled
Information on a particular section of a course such as instructor, meeting time and location, and number enrolled
Prerequisite courses or tests required for a course – must input course number and section number
Previous high schools and colleges, test scores (like SAT and PRAXIS), current academic program, transfer credit, semester by semester enrollment, grades, term and cumulative GPA
The audit screen allows you to see the registration transactions a student makes during the term. Put the student’s social security number in the SID field and the term in the TERM field and remove any course number from the COURSE field unless you want an audit trail for the student’s transactions in that course only (if you want an audit trail for all courses in a particular subject area, just enter the department’s abbreviation). When you are in the screen, you will see several columns with the following information concerning the courses a student adds or drops, date and time of the transaction, the operator who worked with the student during registration, the action that was taken, the course numbers and sections dropped and/or added, and the number of hours each course counted.
Shows all transfer credit
Hours transferred in and schools from which they were transferred
Lists holds placed on the student with comments about the hold
Shows all rooms, room type ;and capacity in a given building
Student’s schedule with call number. Same as screen VR2
Final grades of students in a particular section of a class
Student’s grades for the term
Student’s schedule, grades, and the effective date of the original registration – scrolls through the terms each time you hit enter
Student’s schedule with call number
Student’s voice response registration appointment date and time, whether or not advising is required (Y), not required (N), or completed (C), registration advising number and student’s computer user ID
Student’s schedule with permits submitted (like screen 104)
Admissions information such as application date, admit date, SAT scores, major and degree indicated on application, PGPA
High School name, high school GPA, rank, class size, percentile ranking
Student’s scores on tests such as math and English placement, SAT, PRAXIS, etc. Enter test name in the TEST ID field
Schools of higher education that the student has attended
All degrees the student has earned
Same as screen 110
All test scores for the student including SAT, placement tests, PRAXIS, etc. You can determine math proficiency from the test PLMAT. The score (SCR1) should be 10 or higher on the first test and 12 or higher on the retest for the student to be proficient. You can determine if the score is for the test or the retest under the heading RTST (retest). Test=0000; Retest=0001. You can determine English placement and proficiency results from the test PLENG. Under the heading RESU (result), results are as follows: 0001=placement in 0900 0002=placement in 1000 0003=placement in 1100 1000=not proficient 2000=proficient Passing scores on the PRAXIS are: reading – 176, writing – 173, math – 173 To get further information about how to understand test scores on screen 221, enter a test name in the TEST ID field (ex: SAT or PLENG). TAB until the cursor is at the beginning of the test name in that field and hit F2 or PF2. This will produce a close up explanation of all test results.
Information about course openings. If you want information about all courses in a department, this is a very helpful screen. Type the department abbreviation (no course number) in the COURSE field. This will bring up all courses offered in that department. Use the TAB key or the UP/DOWN ARROW keys to move around within this screen. To exit this screen, type EXI in the TERM field. This information is also available by typing CLASSES at the $ prompt.
One feature that you will want to use on the VAX is Magic. With Magic you can have several programs running at the same time and you can toggle back and forth between them without having to exit one program to get to another. You will need to ask a system administrator to set up Magic in your name. Then you can create a menu of the programs you would like to access. If you want Magic, call Micki Riggsbee in the General Studies Advising Office, 262-2167. Magic will make your life much easier on the hurried days when you are advising students and you need to use SIS, find out class availability, and look at your e-mail all within a short time. You will type Magic at the $ prompt and menu of your choices will appear. You might have these, for example.
1 ALL IN ONE
E EDIT MENU
S SWITCH
Press option:
The information explosion on the
Internet has given advisors a new resource with which to help students.
Although you may not have time to do searching for specific information
when a student is in your office, your familiarity with what is available
will allow you to make helpful suggestions. Following are some reasons
you might use the Internet for advising.
Find information about ASU ASU's home page (www.appstate.edu) contains a great deal of information helpful to you and students. You should familiarize yourself with what is available. One of the most useful pages you'll use is the interactive page that tells how credit will be transferred when students take courses at North Carolina Community Colleges. Click on Admissions and then Transfer Credit Evaluation to use this page. There is a page for students to get information about such topics as their grades, class schedule, account, transcript, and transfer credit evaluation. The student should click on Student Information and then on Student Account Information. You and the students can access the on-line catalogue at Belk Library and even order books from other campuses. You can access the General Studies Home Page and find information about advising, placement testing, orientation, and the LAP. Students can even send you an e-mail message using one of the pages. Click on Departments and then General Studies.
Ideally, we would like a 100% retention rate, but realistically, we know that many students will consider transferring to another school, especially if they decide on a major not available at Appalachian. For example you might get questions about the following schools. UNC Chapel Hill www.unc.edu North Carolina State www.ncsu.edu UNC Charlotte www.uncc.edu UNC Greensboro www.uncg.edu You can also find information about
other schools by using a search tool, such as Yahoo (www.yahoo.com).
Assist students who are seeking addresses for summer jobs and career searches You might have students who tell you that they are interested in forestry, or that they want to work in the National Parks, or that they want to find a way to go to do the Semester at Sea program. You can find information on all these on the World Wide Web. Showing the student how to find information may be the spark that ignites a search for knowledge. Just put the word or phrase in a search tool, and go from there.
STUDY SKILLS SITES Dr. King’s Exam Hints http://www.isu.edu/~kingkath/exam.html Study Skills Guides http://www.dartmouth.edu/admin/acskills/#study Study Skills Guides http://www.csbsju.edu/advising/helplist.html Study Strategies Homepage http://www.d.umn.edu/student/loon/acad/strat/ Study Skills http://www.scar.utoronto.ca/services/counselling/Study_Skills.html Study Skills for Effective Learning http://wwwbs.wlihe.ac.ukbs_project/idslink/textstudyskills/textstudyskills.html University of Waterloo Study Skills Package http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/Study/study_skills.html Virginia Tech. Study Skills Self-Help Information http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html Study Skills (SQ3R) http://www.westviking.nf.ca/cb_st_sk.htm Test-Taking Skills http://www.csbsju.edu/advising/help/testskil.html Study Skill Guides (very comprehensive) http://www.dartmouth.edu/admin/acskills/index.himl#study The CalREN Project (Study Tips and Strategies) http://128.32.89.153/CalRENHP.html Mind Tools http://www.mindtools.com/index.html#Techniques The Six Hour D http://www.gasou.edu/psychweb/discuss/chap00/6hourd.htm How to be a Successful Student http://marin.cc.ca.us/%7Edon/Study/Hcontents.html College Survival Topics http://monster.educ.kent.edu/docwhiz/docwhiz.html#menu Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum http://kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctac/toc.htm Icpac Guide to Better Study Skills
http://icpac.indiana.edu/skills/ss-index.html
MAJOR & CAREER EXPLORATION Occupational Outlook Handbook http://stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm What Color is Your Parachute: Job Hunting Online http://www.washingtonpost.com/parachute The Career Interest Game (an interactive internet activity based on Holland’s theory) http://www.missouri.edu/~cppcwww/holland.html Exploring Occupations http://www.umanitoba.ca/counselling/careers.html Career Development Manual
Catapult Career Choices http://www.jobweb.org/catapult/choice.htm JobWeb http://www.jobweb.org Academic & Career Counseling Site http://volvo.gslis.utexas.edu:80/~acadres/acr.html Jobs by Major http://www.nyit.edu/stdaff/stdaff_02.html Career Exploration Links http://www.uhs.berkeley.edu/CareerLibrary/links/careerme.htm Transferable Skills Survey http://www.d.umn.edu:80/student/loon/car/self/career_transfer_survey.html Choosing & Using Your Major gopher://minerva.acc.Virginia.EDU:70/00/pubs/career/handouts/1/6 What Can I Do With a Major In . . . http://www.utexas.edu/student/careercenter/major/index.html
Collegenet (search
tool for finding majors offered at various colleges and universities)
The Education and Career Center (finds majors offered at two-year colleges and four-year colleges - follow Colleges & Universities link) http://www.petersons.com
SRN Express http://www.rams.com/srn/search.htm ExPAN Scholarship search http://www.finaid.org/finaid/expan.html The Student Guide http://www.ed.gov/grop_info/SFA/StudentGuide? Sources of Free Info about Student Aid http://www.finaid.org/finaid/documents/ed.html Funding Your Education http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/FYE? Looking for Student Aid http://www.finaid.org/finaid/documents/ed.html The Ambitious Student’s Guide to Financial Aid http://www.signet.com/collegemoney/toc1.html Timely Information for Parents and Students (TIPS) http://www.finaid.org/nasfaa/tips/index.html Scholarship Scam Alerts http://www.finaid.org/finaid/scams.html FinAid: The Financial Aid Information Page http://www.finaid.org/ CollegeNet Mach25 http://www.collegenet.com/mach25
NACADA Homepage http://www.ksu.edu.nacada.index.html Advising Guides & Manuals http://volvo.gslis.utexas.edu:80/~acadres/guides.html Academic Advising Resources on the Internet http://volvo.gslis.utexas.edu:80/~acadres/ A Commonplace Book for Advisors http://www.psy.edu/dus/leonard/commonbk/commtitl.htm Academic Advisor’s Handbook from Worcester Polytechnic Institute http://www.wpi.edu/Pub/Advising/
Study Abroad http://www.studyabroad.com National Study Exchange http://www.cas.unt.edu/acadcore/nsepage.htm Online Study Abroad Directory http://www.its.umn.edu/osad/ Resources for colleges & Universities in International Exchange http://www.usc.edu/dept/overseas/links.html The Education and Career Center http://www.petersons.com
Student Affairs sites http://www.StudentAffairs.com The Student Survival Guide http://www.luminet.net/~jackp/survive.html The College Freshman (online magazine for students) http://www.colegefreshman.com Scholarstuff http://www.scholarstuff.com/ CollegeNet http://www.collegenet.com The Education and Career Center http://www.petersons.com The Keirsey Temperament Sorter
(test)
The Keirsey Temperament Sorter (description) http://sunsite.unc.edu/jembin/mb.pl The Princeton Review http://www.review.com The Praxis Series Online http://www.ets.org/praxis
|
Advantages
of MAGIC
